7540.04 Employee Acceptable Use of Technology

The School District’s technology resources, including the District’s technology-related equipment,  software, networks, network connections, and internet access, are provided as a means to offer greater educational opportunities to students, to enable staff to access and use a diverse range of educational resources, and to foster efficiency and excellence in various aspects of District operations. District employees must be able to use technology resources effectively and responsibly.  

All employees of the School District are required to follow the School District’s established expectations for “acceptable use.” In general, “acceptable use” means that an employee is required to use technology resources in a manner that:

• has a legitimate educational, operational, or other District-authorized purpose;
• is legal (e.g., the use is consistent with others’ intellectual property rights, does not violate  student records laws, etc.);
• is ethical (e.g., the use is not a form of deceptive or dishonest conduct; the employee accesses only data/systems that the individual is authorized to access; the employee maintains appropriate professional boundaries in interactions with students; etc.);
• avoids harm to any person (e.g., harassing or bullying someone, violating someone’s privacy, etc.);
• avoids harm to property (e.g., the loss or improper use of District funds; any damage to  the District’s or to another person’s equipment, software, work, or electronic files, etc.);
• avoids accessing or transmitting material that is harmful to students or that is otherwise  inappropriate for the workplace (e.g., sexually explicit material);
• does not interfere with School District operations or with the employee’s ability to be effective in his/her employment duties;
• uses communication that is professional in content and tone; and
• is consistent with all applicable District policies, notices, rules, and training, as well as with any additional directives that may be provided by a supervisor.  

Employees should approach their use of technology resources with the understanding that the District’s rules and expectations that generally apply to employees’ in-person interactions and work-related conduct also generally apply to their use of School District technology resources, their online conduct, and their electronic communications. This document and various other District policies, notices, and rules include additional requirements and expectations that are directly related to the use of technology resources. 

Policies, rules, and training cannot directly address every situation that an employee may encounter. Therefore, an additional aspect of “acceptable use” is that the District expects each employee to take an appropriate degree of personal responsibility for exercising sound judgment in his/her use of technology and in his/her technology-related activities and communications. If an employee has a question concerning any policy, notice, rule, regulation, guideline, or directive that relates to technology resources, or if an employee encounters a situation in which he/she is uncertain about any expectation for “acceptable use” or about how to proceed, the employee should contact a supervisor to obtain appropriate guidance. 

NOTICES AND WARNINGS TO EMPLOYEES CONCERNING THEIR USE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES

The School District owns, controls, and oversees all of the school’s technology resources, including the District’s technology-related equipment, software, applications, networks, network connections, and internet access.

Any employee who uses School District technology resources does so solely at their own risk regarding possible damage to or any other potential loss of any non-District resources. This includes loss of data for any reason whatsoever, including the District’s own negligence, errors, or omissions. The District offers no warranties or remedies to users regarding any damage, deletion, or other loss of any personal property/data. Further, the District makes no promises or warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, related to the technology equipment and services it provides.

Unless otherwise prohibited by law, at all times and without further notice:

• Each user of District technology resources is subject to direct and regular District  oversight of, and District access to, any and all data, files, communications, or other material that the user creates, stores, sends, deletes, receives, or displays on or over the District’s internet connection, network resources, file servers, computers or other equipment;
• All aspects of any individual’s use of the District’s technology-related equipment and resources, including any online activities that make use of District-provided internet access, are subject to monitoring and tracking by District officials.

Except as to any privacy or other rights that independently exist under state or federal law, no person who accesses and uses the District’s electronic networks and other technology-related equipment and resources does so with an expectation that any privacy right exists that would prevent District officials from (1) monitoring the person’s activities; or (2) accessing any user’s equipment, data, communications, and other materials.

If an employee wishes to use technology (including engaging in electronic communications) in a manner that is secured, private, and inaccessible to District officials he/she should not use the School District’s technology resources.

If an employee uses School District technology resources in a manner that violates the  District’s expectations for acceptable use, or any other established policy, regulation, rule, or directive, the employee is subject to possible discipline. Examples of possible consequences for improper use of technology include the following:

• Suspension, restriction, or revocation of any authorization for limited personal use of  School District technology resources;
• Adverse employment actions, up to and including possible termination from  employment; and/or
• Referral to law enforcement. 

ADDITIONAL RULES, REGULATIONS, AND EXPECTATIONS FOR EMPLOYEE USERS

AUTHORIZATION TO USE SCHOOL DISTRICT TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES.

• As a condition of employment, each employee is required to sign and return an acknowledgment stating that he/she has received a physical or electronic copy of this document (Employee Acceptable Use of Technology) and that he/she understands that the District requires the employee to abide by (1) the rules and expectations found in this document and in related District policies, rules, and handbooks; and (2) any additional supervisory directives related to the use of technology resources. Each employee shall renew this acknowledgment at such intervals and using such procedures as may be established by the District Administrator or his/her designee.
• Access to specific networks, domains, applications, etc. may be restricted pending a determination of need and/or pending the employee’s successful completion of District-specified training/instruction.
• If an employee who is not an authorized user nonetheless proceeds to use District technology resources in violation of District rules, all other District rules and expectations regarding acceptable use still apply to the employee, and any violations thereof may become independent grounds for discipline.

UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS AND OTHER PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES. Employees are prohibited from engaging in (or attempting to engage in) the following conduct at all times:

• Installing any hardware, software, or applications without the advance permission of a supervisory administrator and the advance knowledge of the LCASD Technology Department;
• Knowingly exposing the District’s technology resources to possible viruses, malware, spyware, or any other similarly harmful material;
• Accessing any network, drive, file, application, database, or system that the District has not authorized for the employee’s use/access, including all forms of computer or computer system hacking;
• Modifying or disabling any security measures or security settings (including, for example, any settings or filters that limit access to particular content and any settings that limit the District’s ability to track a person’s use or activities), or deleting any user history information on any system, network, application, portal, website, or device, without the advance permission of a supervisory administrator and the advance knowledge of the LCASD Technology Department;
• Using another person’s login or password information, or allowing another person to use the employee’s own login or password information, except when expressly authorized or directed to do so by a supervisor;
• Physically connecting any non-District (e.g., personally-owned) technology equipment (including computers, tablets, smartphones, printers, etc.) to any School District network other than the designated Guest network, except that an employee may connect (1) a portable data storage device that is used to transfer data files, (2) personal headphones/speakers, and (3) any other device for which the employee receives permission in advance from a supervisor and the LCASD Technology Department;
• Modifying without permission/authority (1) any District records or data; (2) any District-controlled web pages or web-based accounts; or (3) any of the District’s Internet-based resources;
• Removing, without a supervisor’s permission, any School District equipment from school grounds or from its District-designated location within a building;
• Using District technology resources for any unlawful activities, any private business activities (for example, solicitations or advertisements related to self-employment or the work of any non-District employer), or for any activities that involve political fundraising or political advocacy connected to any election;
• Using District technology resources to intentionally access, store, or transmit material that is inappropriate in an employment and/or school setting.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND EXPECTATIONS RELATED TO COPYRIGHT LAW, LICENSING AGREEMENTS, AND RELATED ISSUES

• While using the District’s technology resources, employees are individually responsible for following applicable laws, regulations, and agreements that relate to the use of any other person’s or entity’s products, services, or content.
• Unless confirmed to be in the public domain or within the boundaries of lawful “fair use” in an educational setting, employees may not use any electronic content, application, software, or technology service (1) that has not been properly purchased or licensed, or (2) in any manner that violates a license, user agreement, or the terms of use established by the owner/manufacturer/vendor of the product, service, or content.
• Employees may not use District technology resources in connection with any unlawful or any non-school-related file-sharing activities, including the improper copying,  storing, downloading, uploading, or transferring of copyrighted works.
• Employees are expected to verify their authority (by obtaining permission when necessary) to copy, use, incorporate, or adapt any work that is subject to copyright, trademark, or other similar legal protection. This expectation applies regardless of the format of the work in question. Employees are cautioned that the fact that an image, video, recording, article, file, program, book, or other work that is subject to copyright or trademark protection is available through the Internet does not mean that it is in the public domain (i.e., able to be freely used), or that it can be further used, copied, or adapted without first obtaining appropriate permission from the person or entity who holds the applicable rights.
• Intellectual property and other works created by employees within the scope of their employment (i.e., work that advances the objectives of the person’s employment) are subject to the “work for hire” doctrine. Therefore, to the extent consistent with applicable law, and unless the School Board approves a different arrangement in writing, such property and works are the property of the District.
• To the extent consistent with applicable law, the District retains the exclusive right to determine, at its discretion, the content that is permitted to be displayed or otherwise made available to students, the school community, and/or to the general public through the District’s technology resources. Employees may not misrepresent the District by creating or posting any content to any personal or non-authorized website that purports (expressly or by implication) to be an official/authorized website of the District. Further, no employee may purport to speak on behalf of the District through any personal/non-authorized website, social media account, or similar application.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND EXPECTATIONS REGARDING DISTRICT RECORDS AND PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

• Unless authorized as part of pre-approved curricular material or in connection with a  District-adopted system/application, an employee shall not require students of any age or grade level to create a personal account through a third-party application, system, or website that would require the student to disclosure personally-identifiable information.
  • Employees are notified by this paragraph that federal law requires any operator of a commercial website or online service directed to children to (1) prominently post its information security practices on the applicable homepage and wherever the entity collects information from children; and  (2) notify and obtain a parent’s verifiable consent before collecting, using, or disclosing various forms of personal information about a child who is under the age of 13. A District employee has no direct or automatic authority to provide such consent in place of a parent/guardian and on behalf of a child.
• As a public entity, the District has obligations to retain most records (including electronic data and electronic records) that are created or maintained in connection with District operations. Employees shall not modify or delete electronic records or data without having been authorized to do so. Employees shall not maintain District records in a manner or in a location that is not readily accessible to the District’s legal custodian of records.
• The District and its employees and agents have various legal and policy-based obligations to safeguard personally identifiable information about employees, students, parents/guardians, and others. For example: (1) an employee may access a student’s electronic and other records only when there is a legitimate educational purpose, and the District may disclose student records to third parties only to the extent permitted by applicable law and local policies; (2) certain personnel records (including private email addresses, educator performance evaluations, and financial account numbers) are protected from disclosure under the public records law; and (3) by law and policy, District employees are prohibited from certain disclosures of employee and student health records/information. With these obligations in mind:
  • Employees are required to take reasonable precautions in their work-related activities to avoid compromising District systems and data, including the possible loss or improper disclosure of personally identifiable information. In the context of the use of District technology resources, examples of such precautions include safeguarding system login information, logging out of systems/resources when they are not being used, accessing systems only from secure locations/equipment, and verifying the identify and authority of persons requesting access to protected records.
  • Employees shall not create or maintain electronic student records (or copies of such records) on non-District equipment or on any systems not expressly approved by the District for that purpose.

LIMITED AND INCIDENTAL PERSONAL USE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT AND PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY  RESOURCES IS GENERALLY PERMITTED

• Unless otherwise restricted or directed by a supervisor, an employee may engage in limited and incidental personal use of technology resources (such as briefly checking an internet site, briefly checking a personal e-mail account, or sending a personal e-mail message), provided that such use (1) does not occur while the employee is actively engaged in providing student instruction or while the employee is actively supervising students; (2) does not materially interfere with any student’s education, the employee’s own work, the work of others, or any school-related activity; (3) does not unduly burden the District’s network resources or materially interfere with others’ use of the network; and (4) imposes no tangible costs to the District.
• The most appropriate times to engage in any limited, personal use of technology resources are on scheduled breaks, during scheduled meal periods, or immediately before or after an employee’s regular work hours. Any personal use that occurs during an employee’s regular “on duty” time must be particularly brief and incidental and not interfere with the efficient performance of his/her job duties.
• An employee should not equate authorized and appropriately limited personal use of a District technology resource with an expectation of privacy. Any limited personal use of District technology resources should not be considered secure, private, or free from District monitoring and oversight.

ADDITIONAL RULES AND EXPECTATIONS REGARDING EMPLOYEE USE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT E-MAIL

• Employees are provided with District e-mail accounts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their communication, both within the organization and with the broader community. The District e-mail system is provided for communications that have a legitimate educational, operational, or other District-authorized purpose.
• Electronic messages sent and received by school employees are treated like any other District records and are the property of the District. System administrators and other expressly authorized personnel may use active and passive means of monitoring, searching, and reviewing employees’ electronic mail. However, in the absence of a specific complaint, records request, claim, investigation, or operational need where authorized staff members are following established procedures, no individual employee other than the District Administrator may instigate the active monitoring or searching of the specific content of another employee’s e-mail.
• Employee e-mail messages are not confidential and may be requested by the public under the public records law and may, unless they are exempt under the law, be open to public inspection.
• All staff e-mail messages are retained through an archival process and stored for a default period of 10 years.
• An employee who determines that there is an exceptional situation that necessitates sending a work-related e-mail from a non-District e-mail system/account should copy his/her work e-mail address to ensure that a record of the communication is preserved. Confidential student information should not be included in such an e-mail, except in an emergency situation.
• Employees who create student records via e-mail need to ensure that the student records are retained and are reasonably accessible for the period of time specified by the student records law (which can be longer or shorter than 10 years). For this reason, the District discourages the use of e-mail as a means for communicating (either internally or externally) about individually identifiable students on substantive, individualized matters. In contrast, e-mail can be an effective and efficient means of scheduling meetings with parents, responding to a parent’s or student’s general inquiries about a class’s schedule or assignments, etc.
• Employees are expected to develop a practice of assessing the need and possible ramifications of identifying individual students in e-mail correspondence prior to sending such e-mails. The use of first names only, initials, etc. can be helpful, but does not necessarily prevent the record from being individually identifiable to the student.
• Employees using e-mail to correspond with parents/guardians and students in connection with their employment-related duties and responsibilities shall also adhere to the following:
  • Employees must use their school-provided e-mail accounts for all e-mail communications with students and parents/guardians. Use of an employee’s personal e-mail account for parent/student communication is not authorized except in an emergency and where the employee copies his/her work e-mail address.
  • E-mail is not an effective medium for contentious, emotional, or highly confidential issues. These issues are more effectively dealt with through a phone call or an in-person meeting.
  • Employees must avoid improper disclosure of student information to another student’s parent/guardian, to another student, or to any other unauthorized individual.
  • Employee e-mails to students may not include content of an inappropriately personal nature, or content that suggests the employee is engaging the student as a social peer.
  • Employees may communicate only with parents at the e-mail address(es) listed in the Student Information System (SIS) unless appropriate steps have been taken to verify that the communication is occurring with a parent/guardian who has educational rights for the student.
  • Employees may communicate with students using only the District-provided student e-mail account (and, therefore, may not directly e-mail students in grades where no student e-mail accounts are issued).
• Other unacceptable uses of e-mail include the following:
  • E-mail must not contain defamatory, discriminatory, threatening, offensive, racist, deceptive, sexually explicit, or obscene content.
  • E-mail must not be used to bully, harass, or intimidate another person.
  • E-mail must not be used to facilitate any unlawful activity or any violation of District policies/rules.
  • No employee shall send or forward e-mails that are malicious in purpose or in their content (e.g., mocking or degrading others), or that otherwise impair the proper and effective performance of district functions.
  • Employees shall not create, transmit, send, or attempt to send deceptive messages (e.g., impersonating another person); messages that contain material that is inappropriate for the work/school context; and/or messages that may be harmful (for example: executable files, viruses, material from an unknown and questionable source, etc.).

OTHER ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION BY EMPLOYEES

• In addition to e-mail, there are various other forms of electronic communication that employees may be assigned to maintain or authorized to use in connection with their work-related duties. Examples include District-approved websites, District-approved social media platforms, District-approved course-management applications, and District-approved Student Information Systems.
• A significant concern with any form of electronic communication that may be used by District employees is the extent to which records are appropriately retained and made available to the District’s legal custodian of records. For this reason and others, employees are expected to confine their work-related electronic communications to methods/platforms that have been expressly approved by the District. If an employee uses a non-sanctioned method/platform inadvertently or in an emergency, the employee is expected to ensure that reasonable steps are taken to preserve relevant records. For example, at this time, the District has no procedure in place by which it can regularly and reliably archive, search, and retrieve, text messages for all employees. Accordingly, employees are generally not authorized to use text messaging for any substantive work-related communications, and any exceptions to this general rule must be administratively approved.
• Employees using technology resources to engage in any form of job-related electronic communication are expected to follow the District’s rules and expectations for “acceptable use” as defined in this document, and, as far as the content and purpose of their communications, employees are more-specifically expected to adhere to the District rules and expectations that apply to in-person interactions and written communication and to avoid including or transmitting any of the content that is defined as “unacceptable” for e-mail communications in the section immediately above.
• When creating, sending, using, or storing electronic communications in any format, the employee should consider both the personal ramifications and the impact on the District should the communications be disclosed or released to other parties. All electronic communications (including e-mail) should be consistent with relevant professional practices, the exercise of sound judgment, and the expectations that are established for all work-related correspondence. This includes giving due attention to grammar and using an appropriate writing style and tone.
• Employees are expected to exercise caution and sound judgment when committing confidential or sensitive information to electronic communications, as the security and confidentiality of any electronic communication can vary substantially by method/platform.

EMPLOYEES HAVE LIMITED PERMISSION TO POSSESS AND USE PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES ON DISTRICT PREMISES AND AT DISTRICT-RELATED ACTIVITIES

• An employee may bring a personal electronic device to work and use the device only to the extent consistent with this document, related School Board Policy 7540.04, and any other rules or directives issued by the District to govern the time, place, and manner in which employees may use personal electronic devices.
• The District assumes no responsibility for the loss or theft of, or for any damage to, any employee’s personal electronic device (or the data stored therein) regardless of (1) when the loss, theft, or damage occurs; or (2) where the device is located/possessed at the time the loss, theft, or damage occurs. The School District is not obligated to investigate or otherwise resolve the possible theft of any personal electronic device.
• District technology staff are not responsible for supporting employee-owned electronic devices. Users requiring setup support or troubleshooting on their device should contact their device provider.
• An employee may connect an internet-ready personal device with wireless connectivity to the building’s “Guest” wireless network in order to use the device for an authorized purpose. A personal electronic device shall not be connected to any District network other than the “Guest” network.
• If an employee possesses and uses a personal electronic device that can access a data connection (e.g., 3G/4G) other than a District network, any use of such a device that occurs at work or in connection with a work-related activity still must be consistent with District rules of conduct for employees, including rules regarding the time, place, and manner of such use, as well as the expectation that an employee will not use such a device to bring harmful or inappropriate material into work/school environment.
• Personal electronic devices connected to the District’s Guest network are subject to monitoring by the District’s network systems. Similarly, other non-District devices and equipment connected to District equipment (such as portable storage drives connected to a District computer) are subject to being monitored/scanned by District systems.
• Employees shall not create or maintain electronic student records (or copies of such records) on non-District equipment or on any systems not expressly approved by the District for that purpose.
• While at work or while performing work-related duties, an employee may not use a personal electronic device to take pictures or to make any audio or video recording of students, parents, or other employees, except with an administrator’s advance permission or when such use is reasonably needed to address an emergency situation that involves an immediate threat to health, safety, or property and the picture or recording is provided to the building principal or to another administrator as soon as practicable after the emergency situation has been abated.
• A supervisor may direct employees to keep any personal electronic device(s) silent, or completely turned off and put away.
• As an important exception to all rules and directives that might otherwise limit an employee’s permission to possess and use a personal electronic device, an employee may use such a device (at any time) to contact a supervisor, law enforcement official, or other first responder in any emergency situation that involves an immediate threat to health, safety, or property.

REPORTING CONCERNS, MISUSE, OR OTHER POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS OF ACCEPTABLE USE

• If a user inadvertently accesses or transmits inappropriate material, the user must immediately cease the activity that caused the inadvertent access/transmission, and immediately notify an appropriate supervisor and/or administrator of the relevant circumstances and the equipment/network that was involved.
• Any time an employee feels unsafe, victimized, or in any way uncertain about a situation involving the use of School District technology resources by any person (including concerns about possible violations of “acceptable use”), the employee should immediately contact his/her supervisor or another administrator.
• Employees are required to report to a supervisor or administrator any electronic communication that they receive while (1) using a District-provided e-mail account, or (2) using any District-provided electronic software, program, application, or platform if any of the following apply:
  • The communication contains content that is inappropriate for the work/school environment;
  • The content of the communication is defamatory, discriminatory, threatening,  offensive, racist, deceptive, sexually explicit, or obscene;
  • The communication represents an attempt to bully, harass, or intimidate another person; or
  • The content of the communication represents an attempt to facilitate or encourage any violation of the law or District policies/rules (such as a communication that asks the employee to improperly disclose confidential information).
• If an employee has a concern that any School District technology equipment, network, or system may have a security vulnerability, or that any breach of security may have occurred, the employee shall report the issue to the building principal or to another administrator. The employee shall not demonstrate the potential security problem to anyone other than the person to whom the concern is reported and to the person the District assigns to investigate the concern.
• If an employee has a concern that any content that is available through the internet is (1) appropriate material that is currently being blocked or filtered; or (2) harmful or inappropriate material that is not being blocked or filtered, the individual may report that concern to the supervisor or another administrator. The District will review the issue and report back to the person making the report.
• An employee may file a request that his/her account be granted temporary access to certain resources that are currently being blocked or filtered, but for which the employee is able to establish a legitimate educational reason that he/she should be permitted to access the material. Such a request will be approved (or denied) by the building principal with the advice and counsel of the Network Systems Specialist.